


Nowhere But Up

by mariipachii



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Crying Jaehyun, Dad Johnny, Doctor Johnny, Emotional Jaehyun, Hyper Haechan, Johnny knows the pain, Kid Mark, M/M, Mentions of Death, Single Parent AU, Suh Youngho | Johnny-centric, dad jaehyun, kid haechan, only a bit tho, stressed jaehyun
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:27:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24601561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariipachii/pseuds/mariipachii
Summary: “Y’know, you should really grab your kid. He’s being… a little mean and annoying. I-I don’t want to question parenting, but their behavior reflects their parent.”Expecting the man to bite back like they always do, Johnny was taken aback when the man suddenly burst into tears, crying into his own arms.****Or where Johnny takes his son, Mark, to the park and meets a rude kid named Haechan and his stressed out father, Jaehyun.
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 17
Kudos: 324





	Nowhere But Up

“Mark, I am begging you, please do not eat your shoelaces this time.”

Johnny Suh was on one knee, attempting to tie his son’s shoes, tightly securing them and tucking the aglets into the back of his shoe. Instead of an actual answer, the five year old giggles, kicking his feet back and forth once his father was done. He wore a dinosaur sweater and blue shorts, watching as Johnny finished combing the child’s hair and then in turn, put on his own shoes as well. A casual look consisting of sweatpants and a Depaul sweatshirt, he turns to his son, offering his hand at first.

“I’m serious, Mark, the last time you ate your laces, I had to throw them out because of how much you chewed them. They have feelings!” the father cries dramatically, picking his son up and carrying him on his hip outside their home, kicking the door behind him.

Mark giggles once more, “Laces don’t have feelings, Papa.”

Johnny opens the door to his car, placing Mark in the back child seat. Tightly securing him, Johnny shakes his head. “You don’t know that, Markie. Everything has feelings in one way or two.”

Quickly going to the driver’s seat, Johnny makes himself comfortable, viewing his son in the rearview mirror as he fixes it. “What do you want to do at the park? Swings? Build a sandcastle?”

Mark, occupying himself with the toys hung off the back of the passenger seat, nodding a bit. “Everything, Papa! We do everything!”

Johnny chuckles, starting the car, “Okay, we’ll do everything.”

Everyday Thursday morning, near noon, before Johnny’s shift at the hospital at three, he would take his son to the local park. Consisting of jungle gyms and swings, alongside slides and a sandbox, the father and son would find themselves there for only an hour. Playing in order to tire Mark out so he’s easier to handle at Johnny’s sister’s house, they’d play tag or Mark would make his 25 year old dad go on the small slides, or sometimes they’d work on Mark’s social skills with other kids (it’s rare, though). Regardless, it was one of their favorite spots to bond, next to the annual fair.

Arriving, there weren't many families like always. Only about two cars were there, with one of them belonging to two teenage girls who sat on the high swings, two mothers and their daughter on the seesaw. Not too loud either, which allowed Mark to run around as much as he wanted to. Johnny felt relieved, grabbing the small satchel he brings every time they come, consisting of animal crackers, water, and an extra pair of clothes for Mark. Plus an iPad if Johnny wants to play Candy Crush or take better photos than with his phone.

Taking Mark by the hand and locking the car, they walk down the gravel round and immediately Mark takes off onto the wood chips, exclaiming that he is the “king of the castle” aka the slides. Johnny simply smiles, sitting at the lonely white bench and keeping his eye on his son.

However, in the corner of his eye, merely seven feet away to the left, he sees another man. He presumed the man walked to the park. He’s dressed in what others would consider ‘PJ attire’, as he wore black and red plaid pants and a Disney t-shirt. Johnny could clearly see the dark bags under the man’s eyes, his skin pale, and expression motionless as he watched another young boy run around chaotically. His son, Johnny assumed.

He thought of it only as the parent syndrome, consisting of sleepless nights and being tired of anything and everything. His child is younger than Mark as well, still wearing a diaper.

Johnny looked back to his satchel, quickly taking out his iPad to go back and watch Mark. Being the odd child he is, Mark went up and down the slide over and over again, giggling each time he fell off at the end onto the black mat.

Johnny remembered teaching Mark how to laugh over the smallest of things, as a distraction from the death of his mother, Johnny’s high school sweetheart. She merely died shortly before Mark’s fourth birthday, leaving behind her final gift in the form of a child’s jigsaw puzzle of their family portrait. He hadn’t seen it yet, though, as Johnny was hit the most from the loss of his fiancé. He kept her ring as well.

He was only thankful he was nearly done with his schooling to actually provide for him and Mark. They were on their own now.

Every now and then his mother would help, providing advice, but she was stern on Johnny learning on his own, with him mostly relying on his sister to watch after his son. She gladly did, loving her nephew more than anything in the world. Many nights he cried to her, saying he wanted to give up, but each tear made Johnny a stronger person and a stronger father, refusing to give up on his own son.

Completing some levels in CC, Johnny kept an eye on Mark, who now lives in the sandbox, molding the sand into different mountains and huts. Yet his eye kept wandering to the strange man’s child, who accidentally ran past the little girl from earlier and tripped her, running off without apologizing or his father apologizing. The girl ended up crying for her moms, who decided to call it lunch time and left, giving the man a look of disgust. He did not care.

Mark ran back to his dad, jumping excitedly. His fingers were covered in sand and shoes coated in it as well. “Papa, Papa! Swing me!”

Johnny puts his tablet away and takes the satchel, following his son to the swings, which was near the strange man. At that angle, he could see the faded red dyed hair on the man, as he forced himself to smile when his son showed him a rock.

Johnny carries Mark into the baby swing, laughing alongside his child when he began to swing him ever so slightly, not too high but not too close to the ground. Just how he liked it.

Yet in the distance, the child from before kept running, throwing wood chips everywhere and even knocking over Mark’s little kingdom. Johnny was relieved his son did not notice. Such behavior from a child would not bother him so much if the parental figure stepped in, but once again the man sits there. His knees now to his chest, Johnny sighed and got Mark off the ride after a few minutes (the nausea gets to him easily) and held him on his hip, walking past the man before stopping.

“Y’know, you should really grab your kid. He’s being… a little mean and annoying. I-I don’t want to question parenting, but their behavior reflects their parent.”

Expecting the man to bite back like they always do, Johnny was taken aback when the man suddenly burst into tears, crying into his own arms.

Johnny’s heart falls, his hold on Mark faltering a bit and instinctively puts him down, scrambling to do something. He gets down on one knee to match the height of the man, seeing his brown eyes coated in water. “S-Sir, I didn’t mean to—“

He’s cut off by a sob, shutting him off promptly and looking to Mark for some reassurance, coming to no avail from a five year old. He only looked concerned. Johnny turns back, more confident. “Sir, I’m a doctor, are you alright? Are you hurt?”

When given no answer, assuming it’s a no, Johnny gets closer. “I’m Johnny, what’s your name?”

After a minute or so, the man calms down, lifting his head and meeting Johnny’s eyes. “J-Jaehyun…”

Jaehyun’s face was red, especially his nose, with fresh tears running down his face at a rapid pace. He developed hiccups. Johnny opened his palm, “Can I touch you?” Given a nod, he grabs Jaehyun’s arm slowly and massages his palm. “Calm down, it’s fine. What’s your son’s name?”

“Haechan…”

Turning to his own son, Johnny motions to Haechan, who stood in the sandbox. “Play with Haechan while I talk to his dad, okay? Make him prince of the castle. Come back if anything happens.”

Mark nods, going off to play with his new friend.

Johnny turns back to Jaehyun, sitting beside him on the bench, keeping his hand in the other’s. Jaehyun was more calm now, but his lower lip was still quivering alongside tears running down his rosie cheeks. “Look, I didn’t mean to offend you if that’s why you are… crying.”

Jaehyun shakes his head, “N-No. It wasn’t that. In all honesty, I should’ve stepped in, but I couldn’t find the will to. You were right.”

Letting go of his hand, Johnny turns his whole body. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Where do I even start…” he mutters, wiping away tears that never seemed to stop. “I shouldn’t even burden you with me, it’s none of your business.”

“I know it isn’t,” Johnny starts, “but coming from personal experience, it’s better to talk to someone about it.”

Jaehyun cries more from that comment, “I’m sorry… We just moved here from San Antonio, Haechan’s mom walked out right before. We needed a new start, t-the rent here is cheap, but I have no contact with anyone from my family for financial aid, and it’s just so hard to keep—“

He hiccups, losing his breath from the rambling. Johnny was reminded of how he was when he first lost his fiancé, taking out the small water bottle from his satchel and offering it. “Were you two married if I can ask?”

Jaehyun shakes his head. “We had Haechan a year after I enrolled into college, whilst she was halfway through it. I dropped out to provide, working jobs from 9-5 while basically raising him on my own.”

“I thought since she actually has a degree after graduating that I’d be able to go and get one too for art, but she left me without saying it to my face. A note on the bedside table…” he continued, his voice shaking with anger and sadness. “She fucking left because she thought a child would drag down her career.”

Out of anger, he throws the bottle at the floor, unaware he was still holding it. Instantly regretting it, he covers his mouth from a sob and looks at Johnny. “I’m sorry, I-I wasn’t thinking, I-I…”

Johnny leans down to grab it, noting the dent on the side of it. “It’s okay, it can be replaced.”

“Please let me pay for it—“ Jaehyun goes for his wallet in his pocket, but the elder grabs his arm.

“No, don’t. You need that money. I assume you pay a babysitter? To watch Haechan?”

Jaehyun nods, “It’s always the same girl. Bless her heart, she’s in high school and I’m paying her ten dollars an hour basically every other day. I work two jobs to provide, one at a grocery store and the other as an Uber eats delivery person. I’ve never been so stressed in my life.”

“I developed hives at one point due to it. That was the first time I took Chan to the hospital since his birth. He cried. It made the hives worse.” Jaehyun sobbed, hiding his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do! I don't want to put Haechan in the system but I don’t think I have a choice!”

Johnny’s expression was beyond sympathetic. He thought he personally had it bad, but Jaehyun’s story was one that broke his heart. The words to make it better were nonexistent, all he could offer was a hug, wrapping his arms around Jaehyun slowly, the younger crying on his shoulder. His body was shaking, and Jonny presumed this is the first time he truly opened up about his struggles.

“It’s hard, I know, shhh.” Johnny rubs Jaehyun’s shoulder, “but that boy needs you, I know cause I considered it with my son, Mark, too. You’re Haechan’s lifeline, he smiles because of you. He’ll understand the blood, sweat, and tears you went through to take care of him one day. And he’ll be thankful.”

“There’s nowhere to go but up now.”

For the first time, Jaehyun did not burst into tears. He still sniffled, his body still trembling from the outburst, but the tears were slowing down. He can actually catch his breath, but he is still resting on Johnny’s shoulder, something he found safe.

Johnny used his left hand to gesture, “Do you have your phone? Can you open it for me?”

Jaehyun obliges, watching as Johnny types his number into the contacts app. “Incase you need a babysitter in the mornings. My shifts are usually at night, and I can talk to my sister if she could watch both Mark and Haechan if you work at night.”

Jaehyun sits up entirely now, staring at him in disbelief. “No, you don’t have to do that, Johnny, I can—“

“She nor I charge. I trust her with my own child, she’s going to love Haechan.” he continues saying, offering a kind smile to the younger. “From one dad to another.”

Jaehyun finally smiles, taking back his phone as Johnny gets up. “My shift starts in an hour, I gotta get Mark across town in that time and then change… When do you not work?”

“Sundays.” answered Jaehyun, glancing over at his son and Mark, who went down a fireman pole constantly. “Typically afternoons. I like sleeping in.”

“Oh well look at that, Sundays are my days off too. Are you up for lunch at my place? It could be a playdate for the kids if they wanted. We’ll get to know each other more.”

Jaehyun nods. “It’s a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> My first AO3 story!  
> Apologies for mistakes. I lowkey wanna make this a full book but I know I’d probably lose interest. This is just a one-shot.


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